‘No gangster-style, no vulgarities, no 2-hr wait’ — Hawker stall owner denies allegations made by customer on Christmas night

SINGAPORE — A hawker stall was accused of making a customer wait two hours for his order over the weekend. The staff who served the customer allegedly also used vulgarities against the customer, who characterized his behaviour in a much-shared Facebook post as “gangster-style”.

The owner of JIAO CAI Seafood responded to The Independent Singapore, saying that “Whatever he (the customer) said was untrue, and there were no vulgarities used. A police report has been made.” In the comment section of the Facebook group Complaint Singapore, JIAO CAI Seafood apologized to Mr Tan “for the long wait and any inconveniences caused.” However, the hawker pointed out that it was Mr Tan, the customer, who got angry.

While in the process of issuing the refund, the hawker alleged that Mr Tan was “seen seething with anger and fist clenched. You then started raising your voice sounding defensive. We would also like to highlight that you got the refund at 8:15pm and you certainly did not wait until 8:50pm like what you stated.”

The hawker added that they “would appreciate it if you do not twist the facts of the incident. We are open to all honest feedbacks as they help our business to improve.”

As for the “gangster-style treatment,” the hawker had this to say:

“First thing first, there was definitely no vulgarities spewed at you. Secondly, we did not point any finger at you and neither did we murmur any vulgarities after issuing the refund.

We have evidences and we put you to strict proof. Lastly, since the day our business went operational, we have records of all the receipts transacted. Hence safe to say, your 2 hour wait was also untrue.”

JIAO CAI Seafood expressed concern against the allegations, which it said, “are false statements constitute a very serious libel against our business, harming our reputation and integrity, thereby causing irreparable damage,” which is why a police report was filed.

“We will leave it to the authorities to investigate and the truth will speak for itself. Also, if necessary we will not hesitate to ventilate our rights and pursue the matter at the appropriate forum,” the hawker added.

On its Facebook account, Chew Chee Kiat, the owner of JiaoCai Seafood admitted that there had been delays in serving food on the night in question. However, upon checking with the staff, the hawker reiterated that “there was no such incident where vulgarities and fingers pointing were used / directed at the Complainant.”

/TISG

Customer gets yelled vulgarities by hawker stall ‘gangster’ staff even after waiting for 2 hours for their Christmas dinner